Sunday morning January 24

Preparation

Opening response

Lord, open our lipsand our mouth will proclaim your praise.Your light springs up for the righteousand all the peoples have seen your glory.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Sovereign God,king of the nations,to you be praise and glory forever.From the rising of the sun to its settingyour name is proclaimed in all the world.As the Sun of Righteousness dawns in our heartsanoint our lips with the seal of your Spiritthat we may witness to your gospeland sing your praise in all the earth.Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.Blessed be God forever.

Hymn

Captain of Israel’s Host

Charles Wesley

Captain of Israel's host, and guideOf all who seek the land above,Beneath thy shadow we abide,The cloud of thy protecting love;Our strength, thy grace; our rule, thy word;Our end, the glory of the Lord.

By thine unerring Spirit led,We shall not in the desert stray;We shall not full direction needNor miss our providential way;As far from danger as from fear,While love, almighty love, is near.

Confession of sin

Seek the Lord when he can still be found;call him while he is yet near.Let the wicked abandon their waysand the sinful their schemes.Let them return to the Lord so that he may have mercy on them,to our God, because he is generous with forgiveness.

cf Isaiah 55

A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.

Lord God,we have sinned against you;we have committed evil in your sight.We are sorry and repent.Have mercy on us according to your faithful love.Wash us completely clean of our guilt; purify us from our sin.Put a new, faithful spirit deep inside us,and return the joy of your salvation to usthrough Jesus Christ our Lord.Amen.

cf Psalm 51

May the Father of all merciescleanse us from our sins,and restore us in his imageto the praise and glory of his name,through Jesus Christ our Lord.Amen.

Bless the Lord,because he has listened to our request for mercy.Therefore our hearts will rejoiceand we will thank him with our song.

cf Psalm 28:7,9

The Word of God

Psalm 113

Refrain:From sunrise to sunset, let the Lord’s name be praised!

Praise the Lord! You who serve the Lord—praise! Praise the Lord’s name!Let the Lord’s name be blessed from now until forever from now!From sunrise to sunset, let the Lord’s name be praised!The Lord is high over all the nations; God’s glory is higher than the skies!Who could possibly compare to the Lord our God? God rules from on high; he has to come down to even see heaven and earth!God lifts up the poor from the dirt and raises up the needy from the garbage pile to seat them with leaders— with the leaders of his own people! God nests the once barren woman at home— now a joyful mother with children!Praise the Lord!

Glory to the Father and to the Sonand to the Holy Spirit;as it was in the beginning is nowand will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:From sunrise to sunset, let the Lord’s name be praised!

Psalm prayer

From sunrise to sunsetwe praise your name, O Lord;may your promise to raise the poor from the dustand turn the fortunes of the needy upside downbe fulfilled in our time also,as it was in your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament readingDeuteronomy 30:11-15

This commandment that I’m giving you right now is definitely not too difficult for you. It isn’t unreachable. It isn’t up in heaven somewhere so that you have to ask, “Who will go up for us to heaven and get it for us that we can hear it and do it?” Nor is it across the ocean somewhere so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the ocean for us and get it for us that we can hear it and do it?” Not at all! The word is very close to you. It’s in your mouth and in your heart, waiting for you to do it.

Look here! Today I’ve set before you life and what’s good versus death and what’s wrong.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading3 John 1, 5-8

From the elder.

To my dear friend Gaius, whom I truly love.

Dear friend, you act faithfully in whatever you do for our brothers and sisters, even though they are strangers. They spoke highly of your love in front of the church. You all would do well to provide for their journey in a way that honors God, because they left on their journey for the sake of Jesus Christ without accepting any support from the Gentiles. Therefore, we ought to help people like this so that we can be coworkers with the truth.

Silence may be kept.

Gospel canticleThe Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

Refrain: This is the Christ, the Chosen of God, the one who will bring healing to the nations.

Bless the Lord God of Israelbecause he has come to help and has delivered his people.He has raised up a mighty savior for us in his servant David’s house,just as he said through the mouths of his holy prophets long ago.He has brought salvation from our enemiesand from the power of all those who hate us.He has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors,and remembered his holy covenant,the solemn pledge he made to our ancestor Abraham.He has granted that we would be rescuedfrom the power of our enemiesso that we could serve him without fear,in holiness and righteousness in God’s eyes,for as long as we live.You, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High,for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way.You will tell his people how to be savedthrough the forgiveness of their sins.Because of our God’s deep compassion,the dawn from heaven will break upon us,to give light to those who are sitting in darknessand in the shadow of death,to guide us on the path of peace.”

Luke 1:68-79

Glory to the Father and to the Sonand to the Holy Spirit;as it was in the beginning is nowand will be forever. Amen.

Refrain: This is the Christ, the Chosen of God, the one who will bring healing to the nations.

Brief silence.

The Apostle’s Creed

Let us unite in this historic confession of the Christian faith:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,born of the Virgin Mary,suffered under Pontius Pilate,was crucified, died, and was buried;he descended to the dead.On the third day he rose again;he ascended into heaven,is seated at the right hand of the Father,and will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,the holy catholic church,the communion of saints,the forgiveness of sins,the resurrection of the body,and the life everlasting. Amen.

Prayers

Intercession and thanksgiving

Prayers are offeredfor the day and its tasksfor the world and its needsfor the Church and her life

Response

Father, hear our prayer,through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Almighty God,whose Son revealed in signs and miraclesthe wonder of your saving presence:renew your people with your heavenly grace,and in all our weaknesssustain us by your mighty power;through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,who is alive and reigns with you,in the unity of the Holy Spirit,one God, now and forever. Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Believing the promises of God,as our Savior taught us, so we pray

Our Father in heaven,hallowed be your name,your kingdom come,your will be done,on earth as in heaven.Give us today our daily bread.Forgive us our sinsas we forgive those who sin against us.Lead us not into temptationbut deliver us from evil.For the kingdom, the power,and the glory are yoursnow and forever.Amen.

Conclusion

May Christ, who sends us to the nations,give us the power of his Spirit.Amen.